Employees surprise homeless teens with gift bags

Community Transit employees help homeless teens in need

Snohomish County, Wash. – Giving back truly is the greatest gift especially when it goes to helping homeless students in Snohomish County this holiday season.

Community Transit employees will be surprising 70 kids from local high schools including Cascade High School, Everett High School, HM Jackson High School, Sequoia High School, as well as two online programs with gifts this holiday season. All 70 of the kids are unaccompanied meaning they do not have a legal guardian.

Community Transit employees have partnered with Washington Kids in Transition (KIT) and Volunteers of America to help high school students in Snohomish County who have no place to call home. Despite overwhelming challenges, these kids have still found a way to receive the education they deserve and employees at Community Transit feel they deserve something special during the holiday season as well.

Over the past two weeks, Community Transit employees selected a card from one of three giving trees at their Everett operating bases that listed a gift needed for these students. The giving tree cards shared some of the stories of the teens and the challenges they face. Employee gifts went inside a new backpack along with hygiene kits and a gift card. Community Transit employees exceeded their goal and came together on December 7 to wrap and pack the gifts, which are being delivered to school counselors on December 8 to surprise the teens.

Community Transit business partners Otak, Parsons Brinckerhoff, and Perteet are donating backpacks to the campaign while the Everett Costco, Fred Meyer, Target and Walmart stores are helping with donations for the hygiene kits. Each year, Community Transit employees pick a local service organization to support. All donations are made by employees who chose to participate.